Kevin Rudd and Tony Abbott to speak live to Christians across the nation

In the lead up to the 2010 federal election the leaders of Australia’s two major political parties have again agreed to speak live to Christians across the nation.

‘Make it Count 2010’ will see Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and Opposition Leader Tony Abbott address Christians and answer questions from Christian leaders in a live web-cast to churches throughout Australia from Canberra’s Old Parliament House on Monday June 21 from 7 pm – 9.30 pm (EST).

Hosted by the Australian Christian Lobby (ACL), the event follows on from a similar one held prior to the 2007 federal election when John Howard and Kevin Rudd addressed 100,000 Christians meeting at 846 churches across Australia.

Around 200 church, para-church and denominational leaders will travel to Canberra for the event, which will include an opportunity for them to ask questions of both Mr Rudd and Mr Abbott, after their separate talks.

Both the Prime Minister and the Opposition Leader’s addresses and the question sessions will be web-cast simultaneously to congregations meeting in locations throughout Australia, with a delayed web-cast from 7.30 pm for West Australians.

This year the ACL is hoping to see the number of Christians and churches involved triple in size – increasing the public profile of the event and highlighting the importance of the Christian constituency in the lead up to the election.

ACL Managing Director Jim Wallace urged church leaders and Christians across Australia to get involved in the event and help shape how the nation is governed.

“This is a unique chance for Christians to hear first-hand from the Prime Minister and the Opposition Leader about how their party being chosen to govern would affect the character of our nation,” he said. “It also provides an opportunity to hear their responses to questions which often fall under the radar of mainstream election coverage.

“We need to be influencing all political parties to develop well-considered policy initiatives and a vision for Australia that engenders an increasingly moral and caring society.”

Mr Wallace encouraged churches to register as soon as possible for the event through the www.australiavotes.org website. The website also provides full details about the event and technical information for receiving the web-cast. Churches without the technical capability to take part in the web-cast are encouraged to join with other churches in their community for the event. Details of participating churches in different locations will also be placed on the www.australiavotes.org website.